Why I’m Thankful Charlie Baker Will Be Our Nominee

When we kickoff Thanksgiving weekend with family, turkey, and football, we’re inclined to be grateful, and to reflect on the things that we’re thankful for in our lives. I have already read many beautiful, grateful, and truly heartfelt Facebook posts, Instagram posts, and tweets about family, friends, pets, and so many other things that make America the greatest place on Earth.

We’re always told that politics should not be discussed at the dinner table, especially during Thanksgiving. Political conversations can be divisive, so I avoid them during this time of year that I truly value as a special opportunity to bring people together. It has become a personal rule for me to avoid politics around the holidays.

This year, however, I truly feel a need to break my rule, because, this Thanksgiving, I am overwhelmed with political gratitude.

Democrats AND Republicans are tired of fake politicians. We, the American people, are done with forced smiles, teleprompters, and political games. We are so desperate to find a candidate from either party who is truly genuine.

I am so proud to say that I have found that candidate.

The Commonwealth has another opportunity to elect Charlie Baker to our Corner Office in less than a year. Charlie is an interesting guy. He was the CEO of a massive healthcare company, and he certainly does well for himself. Charlie Baker is a successful man. We agree on a lot, but not everything. In a time when the party is struggling with a serious branding problem, the last thing Republicans need is another rich white guy leading the charge.

More after the jump…

But Charlie Baker isn’t just some rich white guy running as a Republican.

When I needed him most, Charlie was there. He is a man of incredible integrity, authenticity, sensitivity, and honesty. When it was the most difficult thing to do, I watched Charlie Baker do the right thing. I have seen him stand up to his party when he thought no one was looking.

He even stuck his neck out for this crazy Ron Paul supporting libertarian teenager who wanted to be a delegate to the Republican National Convention.

That was me, of course. I, along with 16 like-minded friends, played by the rules in April of 2012, and won the votes of registered Republicans who chose us to represent them at the RNC. When the MassGOP and the Romney campaign decided to take our victories away from us, they offered our seats to some of their big names. Charlie Baker, of course, was the biggest name.

Charlie, a Romney supporter, had run to be a delegate, but he lost to some of our crazy Ron Paul people. Naturally, the party had offered him one of the seats that they stole from us. The MassGOP wanted to give him MY seat.

While the 16 other stolen seats were filled promptly with opportunists happy to take advantage of their party’s dirty tricks, Charlie absolutely refused to play along. He refused to take a seat that he didn’t win.

The MassGOP thought that their dirty politics would go unnoticed. They thought no one was looking, and neither did Charlie. The difference is that, when many of his Republican donors, supporters, and colleagues acted shamefully, their pressure could not stop Charlie from doing the right thing.

He stood up for me.

He didn’t do it because he knew me. He had no idea who I was. He didn’t do it because he agreed with me. He was my opponent, and he ran against me. His reasoning was not result-oriented in that sense. Instead, Charlie stood up for us simply because it was the right thing to do, and that is all that mattered to him.

I’m thankful for the opportunity to support a man who does the right thing even when no one will know. Many political discussions, and many Thanksgiving dinners, need more Charlie Bakers at their tables.

Thank you, Charlie, for giving the Commonwealth someone to trust when we’re not looking.